The Vasopressor & Inotrope Handbook: A Practical Guide for Healthcare Professionals

This book made understanding vasopressors very easy for me. It was a quick read, and I would definitely recommend it to other new grad nurses in the ICU. I see myself going back and re-reading it a few times. Thank you for this great resource.

I must preface by saying that I am a long time follower of Dr. Gutierrez, aka eddyjoemd, on social media. My passion has always been in critical care and I have worked in the critical care setting over the course of 18 yrs (nurse, flight nurse, nurse practitioner). I always enjoyed his content on social media and when he posted that he was publishing a book with 150 pages covering vasopressors and inotropes, I knew I had to read itAfter reading the book cover to cover, I discovered one thing I need to share. There are many books within the medical realm that cover these medications. Their pharmacodynamics, kinetics, pathophysiology etc etc. There are NO books to my knowledge that ask the real questions that we face everyday in the critical care setting but THIS ONE.Each chapter starts with a synopsis of each drug and its mechanism of actions. However, following, what differentiates this book from other medical books in regard to this information is the review of literature that Dr. Gutierrez takes you through. Each question is backed by evidenced based practice or randomized control trials and their outcome. Few examples of question include: why is phenylephrine considered a push dose press? or, when should vasopressin be added in setting as secondary vasopressor support? These are the real questions that need to be answered and now we have an entire book dedicated to this information.To round it off, the writing style is very easy to read, there are some comical and personal stories that he shares, as well 27 pages of citations that would allow you to find the data/studies that were utilized to write the book.I highly recommend this book to any premed, med student, new grad nurse, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, physician, or just random joe that wants to obtain real world knowledge regarding these medication classes and their use in the critical care setting.

I am an internal medicine resident that continues to refer to this book often. It’s extremely helpful in gaining a deep understanding of the “how & why” of vassopresors. The paperback book is light so travels well in my bag while I’m on ICU rotations.I also enjoy the historical context that Dr. G adds. Highly recommend for any IM physician in training or anyone with clinical exposure to these medications.

I really enjoyed this look at some of the drugs I use daily in critical care - will find it invaluable and have recommended it to some others. I have read some textbooks on critical care as well, and none of them compare for the purpose. This is distilled, contemporary, relevant, and helpful. I really hope Dr. Gutierrez will write some more books!

Dr. Gutierrez nails the balance between being a thorough resource while still being very readable- a feat very few books like this have been able to accomplish. I have bought at least 3 copies of this book for myself and then for colleagues/friends/preceptees, and think it is an absolute must for anyone in critical care. In the future I would love to see ephedrine included, I know it's almost exclusively an anesthesia drug of choice but as an ICU RN in CRNA school I would love his thoughts/teachings. It's the best $33 dollars you'll spend in your career!

This book will quite literally serve you the answers to your vasoactive & inotropic questions on a silver platter. Dr. Gutierrez does a great job of balancing a detailed yet concise explanation of pertinent receptor sites before honing in on each specific medication. He ties in evidence-based research, efficacy in specific situations, comparison to other drugs, pros vs cons, etc. in a conversational manner that feels less like a textbook. Basically, it’s not boring! Highly recommend.

Easy to read. No fluff. Read it cover to cover and now have it close by when I need a quick vasopressor resource. Whole heartily recommend for clinicians that want a direct and to the point book about vasopressors and inotropes.

I find that at times the language of medicine to be confusing and difficult to recall. However, this book has helped me tremendously, especially since I am new to the ICU. I take this book with me each night that I work and review it with the drugs at hand I am administering. On rounds one night I repeated something I had learn about phenylephrine to one of the doctors and I could see the look of surprise on his face. This book is my ICU BIBLE.